Sound Tribe Sector 9 is definitely my favorite, there's just something about their music that you can't find anywhere else. Followed by The Disco Biscuits and Lotus.

festival jam bands are so much fun, and honestly have the best live performances I've ever seen. No other style seems to really compare to it for me because jam bands specifically have extensive improvisation off of their songs which makes each show unique.

I've only recently started exploring this stuff and my favorites have been STS9 and Papadosio. Seeing Papadosio live was definitely a cool experience with all the improv. One of the things that attracts me most to these kinds of bands is their tendency to encourage people to bring their own improvisational art to the shows via live painting and fire spinning and whatnot. It makes for a more intense experience than a traditional show with just music. I've even seen a few basement shows now with this kind of thing going on, and with all the audience participation it really makes me wonder what else could be possible during a live performance.

Definitely check Holy Fuck, when I heard their name a few years back I said to myself "Not again -another crappy band trying to shock us with a vulgar name" and didnt bother to listen to them. Then I heard them because my friend saw them at a free show downtown Toronto and said it was the most amazing live music he saw in a while. (he does not like electronic music at all!). So I knew it was worth checking and surely it was an awesome discovery.

They have 2 albums - Ep and Latin. I saw them live and they sounded awesome and they have all these wired instruments and devices that make sounds, very unique band to see live. They are pretty small and didnt really do much lately as far as I know.